Former Khyber Pass Pub Manager & Lashkar-e-Taiba Terrorist

By Matt Goldstein

Pakistani American David Coleman Headley, a.k.a. Daood Gilani, was the architect of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks at the behest of Pakistani terrorist organization, L.E.T., Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the most deadly and brazen terrorist attacks of all time. Before Headley became a religious extremist who conspired to murder 166 people, David was a drunken junkie in Philadelphia managing the Khyber Pass Pub for his mother in the 1980’s.

The Khyber is one of the greatest rock and roll bars of all time and with all the rock bands in and out of the bar, Headley fell in with a crown of drug users. Living and working at the bar, Headley began heavily drinking and using hard drugs and heroin. Headley then had the genius idea of being a drug smuggler and in 1987 he was arrested on drug charges. In order to reduce his sentence, Headley became a cooperating informant for the DEA. When Headley was arrested again in 1997, after another light sentence, Headley began working undercover for the D.E.A..

While conducting undercover surveillance operations inside Pakistan, Headley befriended Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the spiritual leader of the L.E.T.. Officially outlawed by Pakistan, the L.E.T. still receives support and safe haven from the Pakistani Army, and the I.S.I., Pakistan’s intelligence services.

According to authorities, David Headley received support from multiple I.S.I. Agents and took direction from Sajid Mir, a top commander in the L.E.T.. In 2002 Headley began training in L.E.T. training camps inside Pakistan which were allegedly guarded by the Pakistani Army. In around 2006, Headley began making multiple surveillance trips to India looking for targets through India’s biggest and richest city. On Thanksgiving morning in 2008, Americans woke to up to a scene of horror unfolding on the television and it was live. Gunfire, explosions and chaos were being aired live throughout the world with a terrorist attack on the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai by Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. The terrorists specifically chose the date so that Americans would be home from work and could watch the horror on TV. The L.E.T. made a point to send a message directly to America.

Headley had chosen 11 targets for the attacks which included the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Oberoi Hotel, the Leopold Café, the Train Station and Chabad House Synagogue and Jewish outreach center. The targets were specifically chosen for their symbolism and potential casualties. Headley even stayed at the Taj Majal hotel and spent lavish money, enjoying his time as a vacation. Headley even wore religious Hindu garb as to seem un-Islamic.

In order to keep the attacks going as long as possible, the terrorists took methamphetamine so they didn’t need sleep. For almost 3 days, 11 young Pakistani soldiers for the L.E.T. unleashed hell on Mumbai India with Sajid Mir directing their actions from inside Pakistan. The phone calls were intercepted and recorded from the Indian intelligence agencies and Sajid Mir can be heard ordering executions and telling the terrorists to set the Taj Mahal Hotel on fire. Live on televisions all over the world were the gun fights inside the Taj Mahal hotel and the hostage situation at the Chabad House.

Perhaps the saddest part of the attacks after the hundreds of casualties is the fact that U.S. authorities were tipped off to Headley’s terrorist activities years before the attacks took place. After a domestic dispute in 2005, Headley’s wife tipped off the FBI and the tips were completely ignored. Could the attacks have been prevented? Who knows, but according to PBS, these were not the only tips given to the United States government about David Headley’s terrorist activities. These missteps have fueled the belief in India that Headley was a double agent for the United States and that America may have allowed the Mumbai attacks to take place. This is extremely doubtful but to say the least, but the United States must press Pakistan to stamp out the L.E.T. for good, not support, fund and protect their operations.

David Coleman Headley, a.k.a. Daood Gilani, was the architect of one of the most murderous terrorist attacks in history. Formerly a drunk and junkie pseudo punk rock hipster turned international drug smuggler, informant and snitch, and now a terrorist is currently serving life in prison in and cooperating with authorities and providing key information on Sajid Mir, the L.E.T. the I.S.I. and later operations with Al Qaeda. After he was arrested for drugs, David Coleman Headley snitched twice. After he was arrested for terrorism, Headley snitched on all of the terrorists. This seems to be a man with no real identity, no loyalty, no actual beliefs and no life at all. David Coleman Headley is one murder who will never see the light of day.

Great Partying Presidents

By Matt Goldstein

With a great tradition of drinking in the United States, our fair share of presidents also have a rich history of the party and cocktail lifestyle. With George Washington running a very successful whiskey distillery on his plantation, Jefferson brewing his own beer, Jon Adams being a flat our alcoholic and Ulysses S. Grant leading the troops into battle while being completely lit, our founding fathers knew how to throw down. Some of our more modern presidents like Barak Obama loves charming political rivals with a few beers hoping that will ease tensions and get some bills passed through the senate.

FDR:

The man who ended prohibition, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was known to mix cocktails in the oval office every single night. Every single night! We at Whiskey Goldmine don’t even drink every night, that’s just insane. Even during the war, FDR mixed his own drinks right at his desk making martinis and old fashions, talking and mixing drinks for others around him. When Truman actually got the news of FDR’s passing, Harry was said to have been sipping a Bourbon when he got a the phone call; a fine tribute to his predecessor.

LBJ:

The man who is credited for passing the civil rights bill but also demonized for starting the Vietnam War, Lyndon B Johnson, was also a hell of a drinker. The main cocktail Johnson mixed was a scotch and soda, specifically Cutty Shark. Johnson used to drive around his ranch with the secret service mixing him drinks in the car behind him. The routine was done so often that Johnson didn’t even have to stop the car to hand off his empty glass and then receive a new cocktail. That’s some professional shit right there.

Richard Nixon:

The man who went down in flames over the infamous Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon was a flat out drunk. The Nixon administration invented cocktail parties for the press but for Nixon this wasn’t a good idea as he didn’t talk to anyone and just got hammered. His only conversation was asking people if they wanted another drink while he was sitting at the bar. Hey, that aint the worst thing to say to a journalist, shit, I encourage people to ask me that very question. It’s been documented that at times Nixon couldn’t take phone calls from some foreign world leaders because he was completely intoxicated. Well, Nixon’s drunkenness didn’t lead to any wars right? I guess we can hope so.

Kenny Powers: Transcend Race Hombre

By Matt Goldstein

When talking to a Mexican who accuses you of being racist, what else can be said, “I transcend race, hombre.” Most of the other Kenny Powers quotes are unusable considering we are trying to keep it kind of clean on Whiskey Goldmine, but we love racist, sexist, beer drinking, weed smoking, coke snorting assholes. That Jew York comment was a little offensive in season one but we got over it and so should you hombre. After all, ya can’t get many racist white trash scumbags snorting blow on network TV, especially not with extraordinary hair. Kenny Powers and Eastbound & Down return for a third season in 2012 and we got the 30 second teaser for you right here. The TV gods at HBO are our personal hero’s because without them, we’d probably have to read a book or something. Watch the Eastbound and Down Season 3 teaser now!

A.K.A. Ilich Ramírez Sánchez: PFLP Militant & Womanizing Party Animal

By Matt Goldstein

Carlos the Jackal A.K.A. Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, a Venezuelan born terrorist, became a legend when he raided an OPEC conference in Vienna Austria in 1975 at the behest of the PFLP, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Killing three people and taking 60 OPEC members hostage, at the time, the OPEC raid was perhaps the most brazen terrorist attack ever. Carlos took the hostages on a DC9 jet from country to country all over the Middle East, negotiating terms and demands. After the OPEC raid, Carlos went on to become a hired mercenary for any government willing to pay the right price and anything that served the cause of the Palestinians and or Socialism. The Soviet Union, Iraq, Syria, Lybia, Hungary, Romania, Yemen and the Sudan are just a few of the countries that paid and protected Carlos and his organization.

Not only was Carlos a well paid international terrorist, but the Jackal was also a womanizing drunk. Rarely without a whiskey in hand, Carlos partied just as hard as he murdered. This socialist revolutionary never fell short of a chance to live a lavish lifestyle with expensive clothes, luxury cars and pricey liquor. Although socialist, Carlos took every advantage of enjoying the finer things in life from the Western World, proving to be somewhat contradictory.

.

Carlos the Jackal: A Timeline of Terror

1949: Ilich Ramírez Sánchez A.K.A. Carlos the Jackal is born in Venezuala and named after Vladimir Ilich Lenin by his father.

1959: Attending school in Caracas, Ilich joins the National Communist Party for youth.

1970: After attending college in London and Moscow, Ilich joins the PFLP, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Many socialist organizations take up the Palestinian cause as Israel can sometimes be viewed as an imperialist nation. Being an ally of the U.S.., the Soviet Union then became allies with all of the pro Palestinian Arab Muslim nations in a battle to control Middle East oil.

1973-1975: In France, Ilich orchestrates a series of bombings against newspapers, assassination attempts, and a failed RPG attack on commercial airplanes, and basically attacks anything Israeli or thought of pro Israeli.

1975: Ilich’s Lebanese partner Michel Moukharbal is captured and interrogated by French police and gives up Ilich’s location. When French police confront Ilich in a Paris apartment, Ilich guns them down, killing two officers and Moukharbal. Ilich flees the scene and the legend of Carlos begins.

1975: In a PFLP operation, Carlos and a team of 6 terrorists storm the OPEC conference in Vienna Austria on December 21st. The intent of the mission is to murder the delegates from Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose countries at the time are thought to have oil policies favorable to the United States. An Austrian policeman, an Iraqi OPEC employee and Lybian OPEC employee are killed in the opening moments of the raid.

Carlos takes the OPEC meeting hostage and demands that the Austrian authorities broadcast a communiqué about the Palestinian cause and threatens to kill a hostage every 15 minutes if the authorities don’t comply. The Austrian government agrees and broadcasts the communiqué many times.

Carlos, his team and 40 hostages are flown all over the Middle East and the hostages are released for what is believed to be at least $20 million from Saudi Arabia although the sum and the origin of the money are never openly confirmed. Leader of the PFLP, Wadie Haddad, is furious at Carlos for taking money instead of killing the Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Yamani, and Finance Minister of Iran, Jamshid Amuzgar, which was the original purpose of the mission. Carlos the Jackal is kicked out of the PFLP by Haddad.

1976: The PFLP orchestrates the hijacking of an Israeli flight and lands in Entebbi Uganda with former members of Carlos’ team who are German socialist militants running the operation. There were 248 hostages but the non-Jewish hostages were released when the plane landed. This move in particular has an unintentional and an undesired negative public relations effect for the terrorists as many take offense to Germans segregating Jewish people, reminiscent of WWII and the holocaust. The IDF, Israeli Defense Forces storm the plane in the middle of the night and kill the terrorists. Three hostages are killed, along with the terrorists as well as 45 Ugandan soldiers. The rescue mission is considered a major success and becomes legendary in the world of special ops.

Episode 2 & 3 of HBO’s New Series A Definite Improvement

By Matt Goldstein

After the fledgling and somewhat racist cliché of an opening episode, Game of Thrones stepped up to the plate to set the stage for a solid series. Although sometimes predictable and over dramatic, there is some political maneuvering, savviness, and ominous menacing indicative of original writing. The Lannisters attempting to finish off the young comatose Stark boy was a bit predictable but the boys loyal wolf ripping out the throat of the assassin leaves evidence which makes the Starks sure of the Lannisters being behind two attempts to kill the young Bran Stark.

Perhaps the best character on the show is Tyrion Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage from the Station Agent. Tyrion is stuck between a growing friendship with John Snow, the bastard son of Ned Stark, and his brother and Queen sister from seeing the Starks as enemies. Being a dwarf, Tyrion is not a fighter, but a savvy political mover who is constantly reading and sharpening his skills and giving anyone deserving humorous condescension.

King Robert gives Ned the news of the Dothraki marriage between Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryan and implies they should kill Daenerys. When Ned laughs it off as Daenerys being a child, Robert reminds Ned of what the Targaryans did to Ned’s family, killing his brother, sister and father. We learn that the Mad King Targaryan burned Ned’s father and brother alive in front of 500 men of the king’s court. King Robert tells Ned that war is coming. The marriage means Drogo will invade and attempt the seat Viserys Targarian as king.

In the “Lord Snow” episode, the drunken King Robert ranks Jaimie Lannister and embarrasses him, implying that he does not trust the Lannisters or his wife. King Robert knows the Lannisters are up to something and might even suspect that they attempted to murder Bran Stark and his former hand.

King Robert only seems to trust his new hand, Ned Stark. Stark will need King Robert if the Lannisters continue to maneuver against him and King Robert will need Ned Starks army if the Dothraki invade with the Targaryans, which seems inevitable.

Episode 2 & 3 were a great improvement on the opening episode. Hopefully the improvement continues. Check out our next installment when we discuss the cast & characters and the mysterious White Walkers.

Beethoven: Classical Musical Genius, Alcoholic, Abusive, Paranoid

By Matt Goldstein

The iconic German born classical composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven, was a drunken mess and social wrench. Famous for his legendary and pioneering classical music compositions such as the 5th and 9th symphonies, the deaf pianist Beethoven drank heavily and drank every single day. Mostly drunk on wine and religiously attending the local tavern, Beethoven showed the classic signs of alcoholism. Having an alcoholic father and an alcoholic grandmother on his mother’s side, Beethoven also suffered from cirrhosis of the liver. Beethoven was very difficult to get along with socially. Mostly drunk, Beethoven was notoriously mean, abusive and suspicious of everyone. Beethoven hated all of his servants, and thought most of them stole from him and thought some were even plotting against his life. It was the same for his business partners; Beethoven thought all of them were out to get him and steal his money. His mood swings are mostly attributed to a drunken state and the paranoia would soon follow. Friends and family were treated just the same, abused and distrusted. An infamous womanizer, Beethoven also moved 71 times, indicative of an alcoholic. Yes, a consistent trait of alcoholism is the need to constantly change residence, perhaps running from their problems or chasing a cure from their ills, be it social or physical.

There are many suspicions to Beethoven’s cause of death but cirrhosis of the liver was definitely a possibility. Alcoholism could have been Beethoven’s eventual downfall. Beethoven died on March 29th in 1827 in Vienna Austria at the age of 56. Although an alcoholic, Beethoven is one of the most influential musicians of all time with an immeasurable impact upon the world.

Henry the VIII: A Timeline of Murder

By Matt Goldstein

It is estimated that Henry the 8th could have executed 70,000 people by beheading alone. Not only did Henry kill anyone in his path to attain more power, Henry killed his wives, his friends, political allies, his teachers and mentors. No one inside Henry’s court and inner circle was safe from his wrath. Henry’s alcoholism and sociopathic characteristics were the cause of absolute madness and brutality. Here is a timeline of the executions of Henry the 8th.

.

1529 – Henry fires Cardinal Wolsey for failing to secure King Henry’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon. Cardinal Wolsey died before he was to be executed.

.

1535 –Mentor and friend of Henry, Sir Thomas Moore is executed for refusing to recognize Henry as the head of the Church of England. Moore was a scholarly and religious mentor to Henry as well as a political ally and loyal friend. Moore’s only downfall was refusing to denounce the Catholic Church and it cost him his life.

.

1535 — John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester was executed along with Thomas Moore for refusing to acknowledge Henry the 8th and the Church of England. Yup, Henry killed a Bishop.

.

1536 – Anne Boleyn is arrested and accused of mass adultery, even sexual relations with her brother. Anne Boleyn is tried and convicted of treason, adultery and incest. These charges are completely fabricated by those closely loyal to Henry in his bid to rid of Anne Boleyn. Anne’s entire family is accused of outrageous crimes.

1540 – Thomas Cromwell is arrested for treason, heresy, corruption, and plotting to marry Princess Mary. These charges, along with Anne Boleyn’s are most likely completely false. Cromwell was executed after his crackdown on the Catholic Church was too hard and Henry lost serious political capital in his own country. Rightfully so, the people were angry at their churches being robbed and desecrated. Henry was also extremely angry at have to marry Anne of Cleaves.

.

1541– Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury was executed for appearing to side with Catherine of Aragon against the king and was declared her a traitor.

Henry the VIII: Founder of the Church of England, Drunken Sociopath, Mass Murderer

By Matt Goldstein

Henry the 8th ruled with an iron fist and an ego on the verge of psychosis. Behind his, alcoholism, and sociopathic nature, Henry the 8th executed friends, wives, enemies and murdered waves of English citizens for sometimes ridiculous reasons and even no reason at all. Henry the 8th broke the Catholic Church in half not because of religious beliefs, but because of his thirst for power. When the Catholic Church refused to grant Henry a divorce, King Henry was so enraged that someone else told him what he could and could not do, Henry destroyed the almost 1000 year grip that the Catholic Church had over almost all of Europe. Here is a timeline of one of the most sociopathic and alcoholic leaders in the history of the world.

1526 – Henry the VIII falls in love with Anne Boleyn.

1533 — Henry marries Anne Boleyn and is ex-communicated from the Catholic Church.

1533 – Anne gives birth to Queen Elizabeth I

1534 — Henry breaks with the Catholic Church and appoints himself the head of the Church of England.

1535 – Mentor and friend of Henry, Sir Thomas Moore is executed for refusing to recognize Henry and the Church of England.

1535 — Henry badly injures his leg in a jousting match. This injury plagues Henry for life and is possible sign of diabetes since the wound never properly heals.

1536 — Katherine of Aragon dies.

1536 – Anne Boleyn is arrested and accused of mass adultery, even sexual relations with her brother. Anne Boleyn is tried and convicted of treason, adultery and incest. These charges are completely fabricated by those closely loyal to Henry in his bid to rid of Anne Boleyn.